NYC may need post-Christmas shutdown, de Blasio says
'We gotta protect lives'
"My nomination would be right after Christmas" for a second lockdown, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. Credit: NY Mayor's Office
"We're going to need to do some kind of shutdown," de Blasio said at his daily coronavirus news briefing.
The mayor does not have the ultimate authority to order such restrictions. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo holds that power.
"We gotta protect lives. We gotta protect our hospitals, so, unfortunately, I don't say it with anything but sorrow, but I do think it's needed," de Blasio said. "We're going to need to do some kind of shutdown in the weeks ahead."
He cited as a model Cuomo's order in March allowing "essential work only" that lasted through the spring.
"My nomination would be right after Christmas" for a second lockdown, de Blasio said.
"If we implement that, with some good luck and hard work and with the vaccine starting to help us, you know, we could be out of that in a matter of weeks, but having stopped the worst of this surge."
The number of new positives reported today: 908 in Nassau, 1,171 in Suffolk, 4,146 in New York City and 10,353 statewide.
These bars show the number of new coronavirus cases confirmed in New York City and New York State each day. Credit: Newsday
The chart above shows the number of new coronavirus cases confirmed in New York City and the state each day. Search a map of new cases and view charts showing the latest local trends in testing, hospitalizations, deaths and more.
Nurse: 'Now everybody wants to get to the front of the line'
Nurse Annabelle Jimenez, left, congratulates nurse Sandra Lindsay after she was inoculated Monday at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. Credit: AP / Mark Lennihan
One day after Sandra Lindsay took the COVID-19 vaccination shot seen around the world, the Long Island Jewish Medical Center critical care nurse said she was feeling fine, with only a slight bruising pain.
Lindsay, of Port Washington, said Tuesday she was stunned by the attention she received as the first person in the state — and possibly the nation — to receive the vaccine who was not part of a clinical trial.
"I've gotten so many emails and so many texts from people who said that they were hesitating," Lindsay said. "Now everybody wants to get to the front of the line."
The vaccine, produced by Pfizer and BioNTech, is being touted as being 95% effective against a disease that has killed more than 300,000 in the United States. The country passed that grim milestone Monday.
Long Island hospitals continue to receive their first shipments of the vaccine. "It should help us start turning the corner," said Michael Fener, Plainview Hospital's executive director.
For some LI schools to stay open, COVID-19 testing key
Long Island school districts in "hot spots" — areas with outbreaks of COVID-19 — are having to tackle another unprecedented state requirement to keep their schools open: testing 20% to 30% of the people in those buildings.
Several districts across Nassau and Suffolk, including Lawrence, Great Neck, Massapequa, Hampton Bays, Riverhead and Copiague, have had to comply with testing requirements in recent weeks. But fulfilling the requirements differs by county and district, making it difficult to estimate the potential costs school systems might incur — even while getting free test kits from the state.
District leaders say they will comply with the mandate so students can continue attending in-person or hybrid instruction, but some feel the burden of testing shouldn't be on education institutions. They also worry about unknown expenditures that might come from the mandate, coupled with potential state aid cuts and other costs related to the coronavirus pandemic.
"Schools are not public testing systems, rather systems of education," said Melissa Burak, the superintendent of Lynbrook schools. "The biggest concern is that schools should not be asked to act as testing agencies. This is a matter of public health and should be conducted by public health entities."
A COVID Christmas
Liz Savitsky with her husband, Michael, and their two daughters, Danielle and Nicole, at home in Huntington. Credit: Kendall Rodriguez
Christmas at Jacci Harris' home in Freeport is usually an exuberant affair.
On any given year, she hosts upward of 60 relatives for the occasion: Getting the whole family together for the holidays is a tradition that goes back more than six decades, with everyone wearing red, singing carols and awaiting a visit from "Santa," who hands out gifts to the kids.
That won't happen in 2020.
Like many Long Islanders, the Harrises have canceled their Yuletide gathering because of coronavirus concerns. And relatives won't be the only absence in their home next week: Many of the decorations will also be missing.
"Because I'm not hosting as many people, it's not necessary," said Harris, a retired educator. "The decoration part was never the focus of our celebration, the focus was more family and getting together. I'll still do it, but it won't be the same."
With the pandemic restricting gatherings, some Long Islanders are opting out of their usual over-the-top lights and ornaments, while others say a year filled with uncertainty and change has given their adornments more significance.
More to know
The Moderna campus in Norwood, Mass., on Dec. 2. Credit: AFP / Joseph Prezioso via Getty Images
A second vaccine, this one developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health, moved to the cusp of government authorization.
U.S. regulators on Tuesday authorized the first home test for COVID-19 that doesn't require a prescription.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said Monday he expects an increase in state income taxes to be approved as soon as this month to contend with billions of dollars in revenue losses.
The state's Board of Regents urged Monday that school-aid funding be held virtually level through the end of the 2021-22 academic year.
The pandemic helped one Long Island company recognize that its mobile software could solve some immediate problems relating to the new environment. Read our Q&A with its CEO.
News for you
GingerBread Lane is on display at the Long Island Children's Museum in Garden City. Credit: Barry Sloan
Can you say yum? The Guinness World Record holder for the biggest gingerbread village made entirely of edible ingredients has created one for the Long Island Children's Museum that includes 500 structures with more than 1,400 pounds of icing, 900 candy canes and 8,000 jelly beans.
So ... where are you in the vaccine line? Join us for our next Newsday Live webinar, "Who gets the COVID-19 vaccine first?" Wednesday at noon. Sign up here.
Plus: This year has been rough. Our passion for foods that deliver comfort has soared, and the grand dame of them all, maybe, is fried chicken. Savor this dispatch on new places to find fried chicken on Long Island.
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Commentary
Even with a vaccine, we could be living with COVID-19 for years. Many seem to believe that the eventual development of an effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccine will allow us to return to "normal," James Coker writes for the Hartford Courant.
If only we can hold on a bit longer, all will be well. But does that view align with science?
The reality is that SARS-CoV-2 will be with us for years to come. Even after a vaccine is available, we will be living with uncertainty far longer than most probably think.
We need to look at herd immunity and determine how many people in a community need to be immune before the likelihood of person-to-person transmittal is unlikely.
Another area of concern involves the virus itself, and it is important that we keep in mind that it is new and we still know very little about it.
